1. Q2. If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then
why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than
one husband?
ANSWER. .
A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to
have more than one spouse while denying the same βrightβ to women.
Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and
equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and
different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and
psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal
in Islam, but not identical.
Surah Nisaβ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can not
marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisaβ Chapter 4 verse 24 "Also (prohibited are)
women already married"
The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:
1. If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children born of such marriages
can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can easily be identified. In case
of a woman marrying more than one husband, only the mother of the children born of
such marriages will be identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance
to the identification of both parents, mother and father. Psychologists tell us that
children who do not know their parents, especially their father undergo severe mental
trauma and disturbances. Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason
that the children of prostitutes do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such
wedlock is admitted in school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she
would have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science
have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of
genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable
for the present.
2. Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to a woman.
3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having
several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it
possible to perform her duties as a wife. A woman undergoes several psychological and
behavioral changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.
4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the
same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted diseases
which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extramarital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them
having extra-marital sex.
The above reasons are those that one can easily identify. There are probably many more
reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.
